Skype for Windows Phones goes gold and hits v1.0

Just as folks are buying up the Glossy-White Nokia Lumia 900 on this fine Sunday, Microsoft has finally pushed the button the official Skype app for Windows Phone.

While it was at v0.2 in a private beta since the end of February, the finalized v1.0 has just gone live in the Marketplace. Bringing the ability to now search for and add new contacts, call to landlines, some optimizations and other minor improvements, the app is a fairly solid performer allowing video and VOIP calls over 3g/4g and WiFi connections.

Of course users will still be disappointed with no background functionality, making the service still a bit of a novelty for most people. Not being able to receive calls in the background is a bit of a deal killer, especially when rival service Tango Video Call is out on the market allowing this functionality (the latter also has better video quality for us).

Still, for those new to Windows Phone or who absolutely need to use Skype, go get your official v1.0 app now in the Marketplace here. Thanks, Andreas, for the tip!

Note: We're hearing that those outside the US are not seeing the v1.0 update just yet. Hold tight as the Marketplace updates.

Reader comments

Skype for Windows Phones goes gold and hits v1.0

Skype works well with Nokia phones. I am enrolled in Preply.com ( http://preply.com/en/japanese-by-skype ) to improve my Japanese - speaking skills through Skype classes and the quality of video and audio is great.

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Just a question to those extremely frustrated im not trying to insult you guys or anything because if a product does not work correctly you as consumers have the right to be mad but your in here saying tango can do all the things that skype currently cannot do why not just use tango... i mean if what you guys are saying is true wouldnt it make more sense for you to use tango until a more complete and updated version of skype is available? just doesnt seem to make sense to me >.< if im missing something let me know.

Its not only that features are missing that a similar product (Tango) on the same platform has. Its that the same App on the predecessor WinMo 6.5 had all these features and they are also there on the Skype App on iOS and Android. And now tell me why people shouldn't be disappointed?

I have only 5 contacts on tango. But 60 on skype. Thazs the reason why i whish to use skype like they other use it on android and iOS... It is Microsofts app and i hoped and wait so long for it. From february 2011. I had 2wp thats my third. And i'am a big fan of the os. But what they do with us? Why? They wrote this app, they made it not the first time...

i see thats all i wished to know and again i never said not to be upset just simply that if tango has the features why not use it, since you cleared it up for me that makes sense and you have every reason to be upset. im not big on video chatting so it really isnt that big of a deal for me you know? so i understand your being upset

I'am not really upset, i just ask myself what did they developer do since last year. 365 days, lets say about ~ 300 working days x ~8h/day x (how many worker instantly worked on it) lets say ~25. That are 60.000 working hours for an app that they had before written for other OS. And here they write for they own. Plus they dont neef to inovate the design new. They all had that. And lets say that all these workers work for ~35€/h = ~2.100.000 € only the worker. Is that worth? I would say at this point it is not worth so much, if that would be an new app a noname, they would not even be recognised beside the other like viber, tango and ............! Thats only what i say. I am not upset because i use skype on my pc and its really good. But they dont had to told us we get the whole skype experience soon. (last year they said that) remember that skype rumors was last year that it comes out to new year. Now we have april and the project is growing and growing. And much more € $ £ or whatever is used than it should be. We are coming to an age where an app is worth 2 3 4 5 M€. But some good shoes 20 30€, some good TVs 150€-500€... And so on. Just think a little bit then you recognise why am i upset. I spend 1/2 of my income to poor people here where i live, and that 2 milion would come good in africa where last year died so many. And the could be made with 100.000€ to this state like today. Thats my oppinion

Even the draw something app still isnt here yet after it already got updates on ios and android. I am a MS fan since xbox and zune. But now the zune is dead and with my second WP i feel like WP is only a test device just like the zune...im migrating to droid or iOS. MS is BS they put people last...

And do you guys know where Skype worked perfectly fine? As an App on my good ol' WinMo 6.5 HD2... I can't believe it. Every step forward seems like two steps back with MS lately. Very disappointed because I want Windows Phone to succeed

I think Microsoft do not want to provide call reciving facility at this moment because Skype is now purchased by Microsoft and if they allow this application to work on background,then lots of battery power will be consumed by this, and a bad impact will show up in their products, just think lumia 710 and lumia 800, these product already facing less battery backup problem, unless they find the solution for this problem, they would not allow.

it suucckkkssssssssssssssssssssss
this is no different at all from the previous beta...... and no 'always online mode' .... no push no live tile WTFFFFFF ....... and microsoft have thousand of developers to develop an app like this? FAILLLLLLLLLLL
I hope u all microsoft WP people get fired..... you are the worst marketing / developers / executives EVER!
thank u microsoft for making me 'want more and more' a crappy iphone!

The update is available in the Japanese Marketplace. Got it! Love it!
Thanks for a great v1.0 product.
I'm looking forward to it running in the background someday, until I'm just glad to have Skype on my phone, and not just the texting part.

I'm not too sure why MS left out the option for Skype to run at the background but MS values efficient battery life as one of the high points of this platform and anything that drains the battery life is seriously put to check. Ms had been reluctant to introduce muticore processors and Lte to the platform mainly due to the high power consumption of these technologies. I don't know about android but two colleagues of mine always complain of the Skype app draining the battery life of their iPhones. My boss also once complained that the new Skype app for his iPad was draining his battery. In any case I don't own either of these i-products so I cannot confirm these, just guessing based on only 3 people's experience.

Perhaps it would drain batteries more but what doesn't drain a phone battery? Unfortunately if we use our phones how they should be used, batteries drain fast. I don't think that was their reasoning anyways. They simply could've allowed people to enable/disable the background service.
I can't imagine why they couldn't get this done but it really is pathetic. They look lazy or stupid to not give people the same or better functionality on their own OS vs rivals. Hell, Skype should've been here sooner to begin with.

Go to Techcrunch and read about the guy who was just fired from MS. They have no real vision or care to really improve. Like I said before, if Apollo doesn't exceed expectations MS will never sniff #2 in the mobile market. I'll leave WP to an OS that better capabilities and functionality or at least a ton of developers who can do next to anything

...for what? 100 or maybe more worked 1 year on skype for wp7. What we get? Not more like one man wrote over a year ago alone. TANGO! He had just the will to to it because of the lack of a comunication with his daughter at home...

Can you do better? Do it then, download the dev tools, build a VoIP app that connects to Skype and then publish it. Until you do that then you have no right to say if they know how to make an app or not

Some of my friends are developers and they know how to do it, they done everything except the api that they dont have but the folks at microsoft/skype have. Just look at tango, a low budget product that just functions. Look at whatsapp, talkbox, emxbuddy and other thaz have notifications of incoming calls/messages. I say only that they had 1year to make a good app with all needed funtionality but they didnt. And im only a designer not a developer. But developer make app from scratch, all the design everithing before the allmighty MS gets an "demo" version of theyre own skype. They own it.! It is theyr platform, theyr OS. How can other make more functions than the owner of the OS/app??? Just ask yourself if your neighbor should know your house better than you?! I think NO! He shouldnt, that the same with skype, no one other should be able to make an better client for skype than skype/ms.

I will say that it's pathetic and unacceptable for MS to not have close to full functionality. It makes you wonder just what they're going to do to screw up WP 8. O can't wait to see it but at the same time, I have a feeling we are going to have some big let downs with Apollo and it won't meet our expectations

I'm just so tired of all these crraapp..... that's it with windows phone for me....... I'm switching to iphone..... I'm not gonna be a betatester anymore...... if I return to WP it will be when they do the WP10..... if they make it till version 10
my only wich now is that apple makes 'live tiles' live icons' for their iphone.... I'll buy the iphone5 ...... and I'm a person who doesn't love anything apple eh? microsoft made me buy an iphone

Obviously, someone can call you over the "POTS" network and use up your minutes (and pay long distance).

They cannot video call over POTS. They cannot call from their computers (at least not easily).

Skype is a unified messaging platform that allows "free" voice calls, free video conferencing, and extensive IM capabilities across PCs, tablets and smartphones. (Well, unless you own a Windows Phone, in which case you've got a crippled app that doesn't actually allow anybody to IM you, video call you, or voice call you if you don't have the app open and ready).

I understand. I forgot about the minutes thing. You're right on though. Its downright shameful of MS to not have every feature along with letting it run in the background. Especially when they own the damn software. But hey, look at IE, they own that too and look how much it sucks, atleast on mobile. I absolutely hate being stuck with IE as a browser. MS needs to allow third party browsing apps that dont have to be based off of IE. At least let a company that cares about features and functionality put out a good browser if you dont want to make your better.

Hell, on Android I could use Dolphin HD browser and watch pretty much any flash video, stream pretty much any audio/video.
I hate to say it, but if MS doesnt deliver, I mean really really impress us, with Apollo, I may just have to jump ship. I dont want to support Google but at least I know if I am go back to Android that is next to nothing that I cant do with my phone.

Hahahaha. Yeah, there's also next to nothing a third-party developer can't steal off an Android phone, too. Does that matter at all? Your address book and photos being uploaded all over the web? Matters to me.

I need to agree with the guys that complain... Sorry but who in hell thinks that this app could be considered out of beta... You own Skype and anyother platform can use it better than yours??? Sorry but this a big piece of sh*t

Or, at the very least, an app that's equivalent to Tango, which was developed by a much smaller company with a much smaller staff, yet delivers capabilities that Microsoft claims WP cannot deliver for Skype even post-Mango.

What I didn't expect is that the flagship OS of the owner of Skype would deliver an un-usable software experience.

WP8 will have Skype baked right into the OS, which will run in the background. The Skype app is simply a "wait until Windows Phone 8" solution to keep people happy. Keep in mind Skype doesn't run in the background on iPhone either.

WP8 doesn't exist. It's not an announced product. Anybody promising that some imaginary product will "fix the issue" is dreaming if they believe that someone who needs properly functioning Skype (and not this crippleware) will wait for vaporware over buying an iOS, Android or even Symbian device that has it functioning today.

I agree.. Window Phone 8 will have it integrated and it will work just fine... I can wait and be patient until the fall. The app now works just fine for me as I only use it for video chat which is planned anyway.

WP8 doesn't even officially exist, and Mango was supposed to be the update that made (direct quote) "the full Skype experience" possible, remember?

Instead, we get a sluggishly developed crippleware app that's a laughing-stock.

Remember, WP adopters were promised a Skype app in early 2011. Now it's over a year later, and we get this joke of an app.

I'm a big WP-booster, but this is insane. If Microsoft itself cannot bother to develop a quality Skype client for Windows Phone that's competitive with the clients it's developed for iOS, Android and even Symbian, then it will cause developers to ask "why bother?"

All the capability required to make background calling, messaging integration, etc. work was there for quite a while. Tango had them PRE-MANGO. Now, with Mango in the wild, front-facing cameras on the best-selling phone, etc., we still have a dreadfully sub-par Skype experience. That's unacceptable.

Are we sure there isn't some outside pressure from the carriers keeping them from fully integrating Skype. It also could be support for the user as well because maybe if the app was running in the background it woould use a bunch of data and the way it is now that would be a huge no-no. Just some of my thoughts on why it could be set up the way it is at the moment.

Do you honestly think that WP8 isn't under development at this very moment? Baring common sense that MS would be working on the next version of the OS, did you just discover the internet yesterday? Considering all of the leaked info on WP8 that's been on WPCentral and other high-profile tech blogs, how is there any room for doubt?

" If Microsoft itself cannot bother to develop a quality Skype client for Windows Phone that's competitive with the clients it's developed for iOS, Android and even Symbian, then it will cause developers to ask "why bother?""

Had to read that 3-4 times to make sure I wasn't crazy. So did all of the Skype apps get released AFTER MS bought Skype? Meaning that MS built Skype apps for all the other platforms, from scratch before they did the WP version? Obviously MS wasn't resposible for the early development of those apps. Also how is this WP Skype app going to de-tract developers exactly? Did you mispeak or do you expect developers to piggy-pack off of the app some-how? LOL That's not how software development works...

if you dont know why then perhaps you shoudnt call them idiots.
If you have a Skype-In number then people with landlines can call you and your Skype rings. This is a great voip based phone system that lets you have a business number that is also mobile. Unless you run WP. My wp6.5 worked fine and since upgrading to WP7 I have been waiting to get back that functionality.

No push notification and no background feature?! Sometimes I really think MS tries to sabotage their own platform, I mean seriosly how is anyone supposed to use this App on a real day-to-day basis? Like this: Grandma calls me on my cell... Hey Gonzo can you start Skype so I can call you? Doh... Epic fail...

It hasn't been that long since they obtained Skype and if anyone remembers, the breaks were put on when european companies tried to killed the deal after it was officially announced. Be patient, its not like it the only option out there

Tango is the only other option (and it's far from ubiquitous, unlike Skype).

For users who value Skype connectivity, there are indeed other choices. They're called iOS and Android. This embarrassingly poor implementation of Skype means that Windows Phone -- over a year after this app was initially promised -- is still not a viable choice for them.

If WP was the dominant OS, that wouldn't be quite as bad. But with it struggling to get above 2% of smartphone sales, such a dreadful implementation means it's one more lost opportunity.

Consumers who aren't Microsoft fans aren't going to "be patient" and wait for vaporware to materialize as real product -- especially when they'd already been waiting 14 months to get this poorly-conceived half-implementation. They're going to choose something that works, today. In fact, many people who have been patiently waiting for this app and its promised "full Skype experience" for a long time are coming up on their contract renewals and probably will be giving iOS and Android a long look, since they have the functionality this app is lacking.

I have to agree with you. This is just embarrassing. I'm glad they made some minor changes to give it that shiney new version 1.0 title, but having it not run in background really makes the app useless for people who use Skype. Opening up the app and waiting minutes for Skype to sync messages is dreadful. Not to mention when typing back and forth with friend having to reopen or wait for the app to restore is another waste of time. I'm having a hard time understanding what the hold up is on a good Skype app. My BlackBerry had a great Skype app and that was years ago. Microsoft in general has to stop playing catch up and actually have these standards done so they can enhance the mobile users environment. Meh :/

Microsoft seems happy to give the anti WP sites ample ammunition to bash WP with. Or maybe this is all designed to make the experience so poor on WP7 that people will be willing to upgrade to new WP8 handsets?

Well it does seem faster than the beta and there are a few minor things changed. However, while I understand the recieving background calls might be a problem, I was really hoping they would allow for toast notifications of Skype chat messages. Many people at my company use Skype at their IM client and having that on my phone would be great. If someone from MS/Skype is reading this, please add this support, I would think this would be possible to do on the current WP OS.

I'm happy to see this finally available, but the fact that it won't run and accept calls in the background is stunningly poor. That is not going to help us. Even if other platforms can't do it either, this would have been a fantastic opportunity for the platform. I hope when it gets baked into the OS that this will be fixed.

That's it, it should be baked in. Its best they get it right the first time, I'll wait because its going to be smooth as when they do. Plus, 64million users... Threat to carriers profits could require a staged implementation.

There is no threat to mobile carriers, just land line providers. You still have to have a minimum amount of minutes on your plan, even if you don't use them. Data plans make them ALOT of money, and some people might be upgrading to something more than the minimum 250mb plan to a bigger plan to be able to use functional data using apps like Skype.

A nice step forwards but what in t
Heaven is preventing them from making it run in the background? Tango has been able to so it for a year, you'd think. MSoft could manage to get it to work on their own Operating System. I can't tell my relatives to call me using Skype anymore. The techno savvy ones are migrating to Tango and the less technological is my Sibs and Parents are just giving up!

It isn't easy to get the nun techo people to do Skype to begin with. Every day that passes they become less likely to want to so it again. Soon it will be impossible.
C'mon MSoft! I'm tired if paying AT&T long distance charges!

Can Skype receive calls on the iPhone, when it's not in the foreground? Isn't that the reason people use apps like Viber? Also a big improvement in this version, is that you can finally make calls from Skype to phones (not just Skype-to-Skype).